Is this what we want for our children? Part 1 The typical day ...

It is Monday morning, 6.00. The week starts again after a weekend that was too short. At least getting up at 6.00 means there is not too much of a rush in the morning - nothing worse that starting the day in a rush - though the older one sometimes finds it hard to get out of bed. Well, actually I am sure the younger one does too, he is just incredibly disciplined about these things, very determined and strong willed. 7.00 o clock, time to leave the house and get to the train station for the half hour train journey. The trains are not too bad in the mornings, at least they get a seat (the afternoon is a very different matter...) After the half hour train journey, just before 8.00 they arrive at the small town that is their destination; another 15 minutes walk up the hill and they are finally there. Once there it is not too bad, some of their work they quite like, and they get to see their friends. The official end of the day is 15.45 though they are expected to take part in the activities organised after that. Despite being so overcrowded that it is sometimes difficult to even find standing room trains only run once an hour, so they will only be back home by 18.00, sometimes later.

They feel that all of that would not be so bad, were it not for the work they were expected to do at home - at least an hour a day they are told. Then there is also the fact that they have to go in on a Saturday. If they are lucky they are back at 14.00, but last Saturday the older one was back only at 19.30 - and had to be back again by 8.30 the next morning for some more extra-curricular activity. Sometimes they look at the grown ups who talk about nine to five jobs with envy and wonder whether it will really get better when they grow up. Then at least work will stop once they are home...

They are 13 and 15 years old now, and have been doing this for the past 5 years...

If you are wondering where these two boys live, it is in England.

My question is, is this really the kind of perspective on life and the kind of mindset we would like to instil in our children?

Is it not time we rethink what is important in the upbringing of our children, what kind of skills and mindsets we need to nurture for our children to have a happy, satisfying and sustainable future?

This is the first of three blog posts in which I take a look at our current education system, share my thoughts why I consider it a problem, and what I believe we need instead.